Even too much of a good thing can get old. That’s the case here in Thailand, where I’m unbelievable spoiled by the food scene; an abundance of riches when it comes to healthy, tasty, good-quality, spicy, and yes, cheap, food. While it would be unfathomable to me a month ago as I toiled with the unhealthy, fattening, and low-quality grub, the amazing food here in Thailand can get…routine, if not old.
So, it’s fantastic to find something new and different as I stay in Jomtien, the quiet coastal suburb outside of Pattaya, Bangkok, or the chill island of Koh Samui to the south. And Back Fabrik is one of the best complements to daily Thai cooking.
The German restaurant and bakery on Jomtien Second Road (parallel to the beach road along the coast), is easy to miss, not revealing the culinary goodness that lies within. Lined up with all of the other 7-11s, coffee shops, and condos, you almost just whiz by Back Fabrik unnoticed, I fit wasn’t for its strange name.
(Actually, it makes me want to call it “Back Fat,” which you’ll definitely amass quickly if you eat there all the time.)
But upon further inspection, the storefront is much wider and cleaner than most stores and shops here, with a front patio littered with several black wrought iron table and chairs and big floor to ceiling windows that reveal the spacious inside.
Walking into Back Fabrik, it actually feels calming and bespeaks to its quality, as the place is incredibly spread out and flowing, instead of the cramped quarters you’ll find just about everywhere.
Obviously started by a German restauranteur, the highlight of Back Fabrik is its German bakery, with a whole litany of authentic European breads, rolls, cakes, and more, baked right on premises fresh every day. You can eat them right there with some great coffee, of course, or take them home.
The bread menu at Back Fabrik includes Black Forest Dark Rye, Seed Loaf, Brezels, Kraftmixed Bread, and much, much more. They also have various croissants, baguettes, danishes, and rolls.
Their deli has other standard German cuisine, like an impressive gallery of sausages, wursts, salamis, white fish, sausages, every cheese you could imagine, and all the rest you’d find at your favorite butcher in Munich, not Thailand.
For me, I best enjoy the breakfast at Back Fabrik. It’s not cheap, as you may pay $7 or $8 for a full brekkie, but you’ll be ecstatic and walk away so full that you won’t need to eat again until mid-afternoon.
I parused their healthy breakfasts with muesli, yogurt, and fruit, eggs and omelettes with black forest ham or other meats, chocolate banana pancakes, and much more.
But for me, it was a no-brainer when I saw the home-baked bagel with sliced cold salmon, eggs, and avocado. It was actually priced strangely low – less than $5 – which is rare since salmon is an imported item and avocados can be incredibly expensive in Asia.
For that price, I got a platter with TWO of those bagels on a wooden board, not just one, as well as a strong coffee. I was thrilled to see that they didn’t scrimp with the avocado at all, although the salmon was so thinly sliced that the second bagel was needed.
In all, Back Frabik is a wonderful place and would be my morning coffee/breakfast/and work spot every single day if I lived in Jomtien, Thailand!
About Norm Schriever
Norm Schriever is a blogger, Amazon best-sellling author, cultural mad scientist, and enemy of the comfort zone. His work appears in the Huffington Post, Business.com, Good Morning America, The Anderson Cooper Show on CNN, NBC, MSN, Yahoo, Hotels.com, and media all around the world.
Norm grew up in Connecticut and graduated from the University of Connecticut, where he was never accused of overstudying. After expatriating to Costa Rica in 2011, he started traveling the world and documenting what he saw. He now lives in Southeast Asia, writing his heart out and working with local charities.
